I wonder if Hope is ever going to be able to loosen up and learn what Maks is trying to teach her. Tonight it looked like Maks was dancing with a stiff teenage boy. Hopefully her soccer schedule will lighten up and she can put all her focus on dancing.

09-27-2011, 09:21 AM

BTW

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

She did as well as Rob or Chaz, and got a lower score. Not fair!

09-27-2011, 01:42 PM

RickiRick

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

She reminds me of misty, the volleyball player. Great potential, but you never really felt she was progressing beyond the motions of the dance. I think her fans will keep her safe a few more weeks and give her chance to figure it out. They'll probably put her in jeapordy tonight to reinforce need for her to practice and for fans to vote.

09-27-2011, 02:02 PM

karalott

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by MFWalkoff

I wonder if Hope is ever going to be able to loosen up and learn what Maks is trying to teach her. Tonight it looked like Maks was dancing with a stiff teenage boy. Hopefully her soccer schedule will lighten up and she can put all her focus on dancing.

I love your avvie! I like the Dance Center panel the way it is, but I'd love them to add Carson for commentary once in awhile. Anyway...I agree with your post and RickiRick's. I feel like female athletes tend to struggle more on here, overall, than the male athletes (except for those who get the natural ability from skating and gymnastics, like Kristi and Shawn). Hope does remind me of Misty, though I think Misty was more masculine and a worse dancer. Hope definitely needs work, and needs to commit. We'll never know if Misty would have gotten any better. She seemed more insecure than Hope does, although she does seem out of her element. I know it'd be hard finding celebs who may not be able to devote their time solely to this, especially the athletes. I don't think she's that bad, and her jive was better than I expected. They got screwed going first, as I don't think Rob's jive deserved a higher score (or Ricki's for that matter), and that they needed to be lumped in so closely to Carson and Chaz.

10-01-2011, 02:05 AM

karalott

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

Maks's blog for the week. Hopefully he and Hope don't pay much attention to the judges. They say whatever they want without knowing what they're talking about, and say one thing one week but something entirely different the following week. Can't wait to see their cha cha!

I am really bummed Val and Elisabetta left. I was worried about him — we worry about each other all the time — and when he got eliminated, I felt bad because I want to see him win and do well. We're competitive by nature and it's hard to accept stuff like this at first, but you do and move on. It's not ideal, but he will be back. I thought they did a great job with their quickstep, but unfortunately, nobody knew her. They relied on getting a good score, which they got, but a lot of other people got good scores too, and it was a close spread, so that's where the fan bases make the difference.

As for our scores, it is what it is. I am more concerned with the judges' comments. I thought they were discouraging, not just for us, but other celebrities and pros. I understand when harsh criticism is deserved, but with Hope, I don't think it was deserved. I was actually more OK with them on Monday, but when I saw video of our jive afterward, I thought it was good. It was quick and fast and looked better than a few others. Maybe this was a case of high expectations for her, but I thought she did well. We got a little discouraged. It's tough doing this week in and week out — we have to pick up the pieces try to move on, and that's on top of choreographing a new dance, teaching the new dance, learning the new dance and everything else. It's mentally difficult. Their comments stuck with Hope. She felt a little insecure about a few things. Everything that she does on the soccer field feels completely opposite of what I'm trying to make her do here. I'm not trying to change her body drastically — I don't want her to have a hard time going back to the Olympic camp. I don't want to change that in her, so it's a balance of finding that mix for her to feel comfortable. I'm just happy we got through and that the week has passed.

Now we have the cha-cha. It's coming along great. It's also celebrity story week and they get to pick the song too. It's going to be a pretty dramatic week and I feel like most of the songs people have chosen may be more lyrical or serious, but Hope went in the complete opposite direction. But it's not like you can be completely serious with a cha-cha anyway! She picked a song the women's team played in their locker room during the World Cup to get pumped up. It's a really cool, energetic song, and we're just going to go out and do a fun cha-cha.

I think everybody was great this week. Some people had comebacks and some people had dips, but overall, I think everyone did well. It was a very hard week, but I think this third week will be the true test. Now we only have four days to prepare a dance, so we'll see how everyone does.

The best part about this week though? Sleep is now in Los Angeles! It was his first plane ride! He's having a blast out here right now. He's a very happy dog. He's got friends and is the center of attention everywhere he goes. I took him to set yesterday, but I'm not sure he's ready for his Dancing debut yet.

I also have great news about my jewelry line. Next month, JC Penney's will sell them in stores in New York, L.A., Miami, Houston, Dallas and Chicago. It's going to be a trial run, but we're very hopeful. They've been doing well online and I've been hearing great feedback so far. There will also be new pieces in the collection that are not being sold online. I will also tweet out a list of independent jewelry stores around the country that will carry them, so be sure to follow me at @MaksimC. I'm just excited to roll them out across the country now. We didn't want to do it all at once — we want longevity and I think this is a good pace. I'm happy people love it. I gave pieces to the cast and they've been wearing it. J.R. wore it this week when he performed. Chynna wore something. Billy Baldwin is totally into them! Doing business is great, but more than that, I'm thrilled to be getting the reaction from people. It makes it all very rewarding.

That's all for now!

Maks

10-03-2011, 09:24 AM

Shoepie

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

I find it interesting that Mak wanted her as a partner, badly! He was very verbal about this. Guess athletic ability does not necessarily translate to dance. I am glad to see this, actually.

She probably just wanted a date with him and figured this was the way to do it (wish I had thought of that). I loved her line about hating Maks because of the internet, so when she asked him if he ever killed anybody (in reference to something he said), he asked her what the internet said :lol I used to not be a fan of Maks until season 5, but I've loved him ever since. I think a lot of his arrogant attitude and "bad boy" image is all show. He looks tired this season, so I hope he takes it easy. Seems like he always has 20 things going on at once.

He and Hope are dancing the foxtrot this week to the theme from 'Toy Story'. I was afraid to watch last night when it came down to these two and Kristin/Mark. Way to about kill my nerves show! I thought for sure these two were gone. Glad they'll be around next week, and looking forward to seeing Hope tackle a ballroom routine again.

10-06-2011, 01:36 PM

RickiRick

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by karalott

He and Hope are dancing the foxtrot this week to the theme from 'Toy Story'. I was afraid to watch last night when it came down to these two and Kristin/Mark. Way to about kill my nerves show! I thought for sure these two were gone. Glad they'll be around next week, and looking forward to seeing Hope tackle a ballroom routine again.

That should be a better dance for her--just smiling and no real emotion--although I can't see how any dance will be good to a 'Toy Story" song. She'll probably also get more votes due to scare last week.

I wonder who was really the "bottom two" last week. As far as we know, Hope could have been near the top. I take fact that Hope was put in final two as evidence the producers want to keep her. Maybe a warning to her and her fans. Certainly made it more dramatic.

Maks needs to take her out to a nightclub as a field trip and get her to relax.

10-06-2011, 01:43 PM

mandmmom2

Re: Hope Solo & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Season 13

The pros used to do that a lot....take the stars to places to help them get the feel of the dance or the technique or to loosen them up. I always like watching that part.